Dog treats company acquired by Spectrum Brands

Nottingham-based pet treat and toy maker Armitage Pet Care has been acquired by the US consumer products firm Spectrum Brands in a £140 million deal. Spectrum is already the owner of pet businesses IAMS and SmartBone

Armitage, which produces Good Boy dog treats and toys and the cat treats brand Meowee, was acquired from London-based private investment firm Rutland Partners. Rutland acquired Armitage three years ago and said the sale to Spectrum represented a 5.7-times return on the initial investment.

Under Rutland, Armitage saw its sales grow 50 per cent to over £65 million, up from £55 million in 2019 and £48 million the year prior. Armitage formed part of the private investor’s Rutland Fund III investment vehicle.

Rutland has led significant investment in Armitage’s products and brands as well as outsourcing it warehouse, overhauling the company’s supply chain and a new IT system.

The company is a major supplier of dog and cat treats and toys, through its Good Boy, Wild Bird, Wafcol and Meowee! brands. Rutland hired PwC to handle the sales process for Armitage in September.

Armitage Chief Executive Mark Andrews said: “I’d like to thank Rutland for their partnership and support over the last three years. Together we have achieved a total transformation of Armitage and it has been a pleasure to work with them. Looking forward we are extremely well placed to continue to grow our brands and build on our market leading position.”

“Since acquiring Armitage, Rutland Partners have made a considerable investment in the business in order to position it to capitalise on the ongoing growth opportunities in pet care, and unlocking our ambition to make Armitage the UK’s leading pet treats and toys business.”

“The partnership with Spectrum Brands will allow us to accelerate our growth plan not only in the UK, but also across continental Europe and beyond.”

Ben Slatter, partner at Rutland, said: “Armitage has delivered consistent growth by developing on‐trend premium natural products in a very attractive niche within the pet category. We worked closely with the team at Armitage to provide everything the business required to create a strong platform to fuel this growth.”
Spectrum CEO David Maura commented: “We are very excited to add a market leader in dog and cat chews and treats to our highly successful and fast-growing Global Pet Care business unit.”

“Over the last few years, Armitage has grown sales at a 17 per cent compound annual rate. We expect that our global scale and resources will not only help fuel future growth of the Armitage brands within the UK and across Continental Europe and beyond, but will also strengthen its e-commerce business.”


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